‘Luck’ runs out for HBO show

"Luck" focused on the owners, jockeys, gamblers and others who inhabit the world of horseracing. It starred Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina and was shot at Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia. For a look at some production footage, click <a href="http://www.hbo.com/#/luck/about/video/in-production.html/eNrjcmbO0CzLTEnNd8xLzKksyUx2zs8rSa0oUc-PSYEJBSSmp-ol5qYy5zMXsjGyMXIyMrJJJ5aW5BfkJFbalhSVpgIAXbkXOA==" title="here">here</a>. And for more "Luck" and other shows that are no more, <b>click on the photo.</b>TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTOS: TOP GUSMANO CESARETTI, HBO VIA AP; BOTTOM, KEVIN WINTER, GETTY IMAGES

If you were betting that HBO's "Luck" would enjoy a long run, you lost.

HBO announced Wednesday night that the horse racing drama would "cease all future production" immediately.

The announcement came after a horse being walked back to its stable at Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia on Tuesday reared, fell back and suffered a head injury. According to the American Humane Association, which oversees the safety of animals during TV and movie production, "Unfortunately, the injury was serious and could not be treated." The animal was euthanized. American Humane then demanded all production involving horses cease immediately.

Two horses were euthanized after being hurt during filming of the first season. The Associated Press reported that American Humane called for a production halt after the second horse's death.

"It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series," the cable network said in a statement.

HBO'S home page shows a still from the series promoting Sunday night's episode. (The final two episodes of the show will air, HBO says.)

And the show's website is still live, although a box on the home page says:

"Luck Ceases Production on Season 2

"Executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series."

A necropsy (animal autopsy) and toxicological tests will be conducted on the horse that died this week.

Some sources are speculating that the show's demise isn't so much a matter of the dead horses as the dead ratings. The show's first episode in January pulled in more than 1 million viewers, reports the Atlantic's Andrew Cohen, but that number fell to around 500,000 as the series continued.

Whatever the reason, "Luck" is no more. Click on the photo to see a few scenes from the show and read about some other recently – or soon to be – demised shows.

"Luck" focused on the owners, jockeys, gamblers and others who inhabit the world of horseracing. It starred Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina and was shot at Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia. For a look at some production footage, click here. And for more "Luck" and other shows that are no more, click on the photo.TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTOS: TOP GUSMANO CESARETTI, HBO VIA AP; BOTTOM, KEVIN WINTER, GETTY IMAGES
Nick Nolte was Walter Smith, a Kentucky horse trainer who's now a horse owner. He has hopes for his new colt, Gettn'up Morning. Whatever writer David Milch and his crew had in mind for Smith and Gettn'up will remain forever their secret. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY GUSMANO CESARETTI, HBO VIA AP
"Luck" used live film of racing horses. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had urged the series' producers to use canned racing footage. When the cancellation was announced, the group cautioned against using horses should production begin again: "PETA will be calling on them, as we have done from the start, to use stock racing footage instead of endangering horses for entertainment purposes," it said in a statement. A moot point, that. The show is definitely no more. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL; FOR THE REGISTER, PHOTO BY GUSMANO CESARETTI, HBO VIA AP
Hoffman and Farina were boss and muscle, respectively, in "Luck." Farina's Gus Demitriou was confidant to Hoffman's "Ace" Bernstein, an organized crime figure just out of prison and ready to avenge himself against the men who sent him there. Demitriou buys a horse, and the plan is set in motion. How it turns out ... remains in the writers' minds. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL; FOR THE REGISTER, PHOTOS BY KEVIN WINTER, GETTY IMAGES
Ah, Erica. Although it's hard to pinpoint one character as being the face of most soap operas, for ABC's "All My Children," it was easy. Susan Lucci's Erica Kane was "AMC." Soap fans found Lucci's manizing (or whatever you'd like to term the female equivalent of "womanizing") and constant marriages, divorces and romances too good to miss. The show was set in Pine Valley, Pa., which was supposed to be a Philadelphia suburb. "It's been a fantastic journey," Lucci told The Hollywood Reporter after the decision was made to end the soap's 41-year run. Lucci had another claim to fame in addition to playing Erica Kane: She was the woman who nearly won an Emmy 18 times. In 1999, for her 19th straight nomination as best actress in a daytime show, Lucci heard the words, "The streak is over ... Susan Lucci!" from Shemar Moore (who was on "The Young and the Restless" before playing Derek Morgan on "Criminal Minds," a show that we are glad to say has not been canceled). Plans to launch "AMC" online were shelved in the fall when production company Prospect Park dropped the idea. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY STEVE FENN, ABC
We remember, when we were in college, arranging our classes so we could get home in time to watch “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital,” ABC's afternoon triumvirate of sex and sap and unending cliffhangers. This would be impossible for college students to do today, not only because they certainly have better things to do, but also because “GH” is the only one of the shows to survive. ABC axed “OLTL” along with “AMC” last year, although “One Life” aired its last show, its 11,105th, on Jan. 13. Central to "One Life" were Viki (Erika Slezak) and Clint (Clint Ritchi), shown here on the day of their second wedding, when Viki told Clint she was ... are you ready? ... pregnant! Hey, it's a soap. Would you expect any less? "One Life to Live" began July 15, 1968, and introduced viewers to the fictional world of Llanview. In an effort at continuity, some "OLTL" characters joined the cast of "General Hospital." TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY ANN LIMONGELLO, ABC
We were very sad to learn that Fox's " House" will end with this season, its eighth. Dr. Gregory House has zero bedside manner, but that's what makes him so compelling. That and the fact that the people around him put up with him. Each episode of the medical series is a mystery, but without human villains (although some might say that role goes to House). The bad guys are diseases threatening to kill victims ¢ including, at times, House himself. Here's Hugh Laurie, House himself, during an appearance on the "Today" show. Maybe his next gig will be as a musician. (On the show, House often finds solace in music. We often found solace with the show, whose writing and weird diseases fascinated us.) TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY PETER KRAMER, NBC
We don't know what the stars of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" will do once they move away from Wisteria Lane for good. The show, like "House," is in its eighth season. "Housewives" spawned a whole slew of "real housewives" shows around the country, including "The Real Housewives of Orange County," set in Coto de Caza. That one's in its seventh season and, far as we know, still going strong. Here, at the 2005 Golden Globes, are, from left, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Nicolette Sheridan. Sheridan's character was killed off in season five, and she sued series producer Marc Cherry and ABC for wrongful termination. Then she sued Cherry for assault, saying he hit her on the head (Cherry called it a tap, a means of "artistic direction," according to one online report.) The assault charge was dismissed this week, but Sheridan is free to pursue the $6 million she is seeking. PHOTO BY PAUL DRINKWATER NBC, AP
After nine seasons, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” will hammer its last nail. The show builds a house each week for a family, who finds out they've been chosen when host Ty Pennington announces it from their front yard – using a bullhorn. Pennington and his design and building crew have seven days – no more – in which to put the house together, and the family who gets the house always has a heartbreaking story to tell. In its 200th episode, “EM: HE,” as it refers to itself, traveled to Joplin, Mo., to rebuild homes for seven families who lost theirs in a tornado. The show has won two Emmys for outstanding reality program. And has probably been responsible for selling thousands of boxes of tissues for those who let the tears flow when the big bus and the family gets to see its new house at the end of each episode. Pennington's already on to a new gig, on ABC's daytime show “The Revolution,” a talk show about changing yourself and thereby changing your life. Here's Pennington with first lady Michelle Obama during a taping of the show in Fayettevill, N.C. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER, PHOTO BY GERRY BROOME, AP
Yes, we know. "Charlie's Angels," the campy, kinda fun mystery-cum-jiggle show from the '70s, has been off the air forever. But did you know ABC brought the show back last year, briefly? You might not. Airing for only a month, the show never had more than 10 million viewers. We say stick to the original, starring Jacklyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson, left to right at top, as the original Angels who answered to an unseen boss who communicated solely through speaker phone. At bottom is a later incarnation, with Shelley Hack, Smith and Cheryl Ladd flanking David Doyle, who played Bosley, the man who worked with the women (girls? We think in those days they still referred to women as girls, no matter what they did) day in and day out. Click to the next picture to see the new generation of Angels ... the ones we're almost certain you didn't catch on TV. TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER
Striking the pose are, from left, Rachael Taylor, Minka Kelly and Annie Ilonzeh. They did not reprise the original Angels' names. Nor did they reprise the originals' success. HONS

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